Reviewed by USGS107y ago
M6.3 earthquake in Banda Sea
Wednesday, May 19, 1920, 12:41:45 UTC · 6.387°S, 125.163°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck in Banda Sea on Wednesday, May 19, 1920, 12:41:45 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on August 30, 1917.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
37 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 78 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
123 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Timor plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
35 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 292 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 132 km W of this epicenter
- 6.811 km WSW of Ainaro, Timor LesteMarch 23, 1908 · 296 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5201 km SSE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 18, 1912 · 208 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 250 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896
Timor: Alor Island
18 Apr 1896 · 212 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.